Of course, things soon took a turn for the better, since what Chen Ke sold wasn't a genuine rabbit-fur teacup, but that's another story.
Chen Ke, already a billionaire, was still struggling to have his "fake antiques" appraised...
Lauters watched from the sidelines with admiration, "Mr. Chen is indeed a man who loves antiques more than money. If I had two hundred million dollars, why would I bother doing all this?"
Xu Manling looked at Lauters as if he were an idiot. He didn't care about money, so why would he sell a rabbit-hair teacup for one or two hundred million?
······
Because Mr. Matsumoto was so engrossed in admiring the rabbit fur teacups in the afternoon that he didn't bother Chen Ke, Chen Ke's work speed increased significantly. The four Shanghai appraisers watching from the side went from doubt to shock, then to jealousy, and finally to numbness in the time it takes to eat a meal.
Chen Ke left work at 5 p.m. right on time. When he left, Matsumoto had not yet come out of the study. Lauters and Xu Manling left after the transaction was completed.
The appraisers were so engrossed in their work that they didn't dare utter a word. After all, he had processed half of the artifacts in just one afternoon. His speed was incredible; it was as if the artifacts had been taken directly from his home. He could determine their origin, age, quality, and craftsmanship at a glance…
At first, they didn't believe it, but after randomly selecting a few items and repeatedly verifying and discussing them, they came to the same conclusion as others and had no choice but to believe it.
Chen Ke walked out of the villa alone, while Li Gang stood faithfully by the car waiting for him.
Just as he was about to get into the car, Chen Ke frowned. "Have you been waiting here since this morning?"
Li Gang didn't know why Chen Ke suddenly asked this question, but he still answered truthfully, "Yes, sir."
"So you didn't even have lunch?"
Li Gang was taken aback. So that's what the gentleman wanted to ask? He suddenly felt a warmth in his heart and said gratefully, "It's alright, sir. I'm not hungry. This is the concession area, and we can't just wander around. It wouldn't be good if we caused you trouble."
Chen Ke's face darkened; his mood, which had just been lifted after earning two hundred million, instantly soured.
"Sir...?" Li Gang became cautious as he spoke, noticing Chen Ke's suddenly grim expression.
"It's okay, let's go eat first."
Chen Ke originally planned to take Li Gang out to dinner, but changed his mind when the car passed a Western restaurant.
"Li Gang, just park the car here. There are restaurants up ahead. Eat whatever you want, and I'll reimburse you when you get back."
Li Gang lightly tapped the brakes to stop the car. "Sir, I'll have a bowl of noodles up ahead, and then I'll park the car across the street and wait for you."
Chen Ke knew that even if he offered Li Gang a nice meal, he probably wouldn't agree, so he said, "Let's have beef noodles. Add two portions of meat sauce, and tell me how much it costs when you get back."
"Huh??" Li Gang was completely confused, but Chen Ke had already gotten out of the car.
So he could only do as Chen Ke asked, completely bewildered. There must be a reason why the master asked him to do so little... right?
After getting out of the car, Chen Ke went straight into the Western restaurant.
"Sir, how many of you are there? Do you have a reservation?" the waiter immediately stepped forward and asked politely.
Chen Ke nodded. "The two people sitting by the window over there."
The waiter glanced over and, upon recognizing the two people on the side, became even more respectful. "Sir, this way please."
"Oh, no need, I can go by myself." Chen Ke waved his hand and walked over.
The two people by the window were having a lively conversation.
“Mr. Hebrew, you must go next time you have the chance. The scenery there will definitely not disappoint you.” Xu Manling was dressed in a beautiful Western-style dress, with an elegant posture, and spoke fluent French.
Chen Ke recalled that when he first met Xu Manling, her charming appearance immediately reminded him of the decadent Shanghai dance halls. The dance halls of that time were incomparable to the KTVs of the 1980s and 90s or later. Those who could enter were celebrities, gentlemen, high-ranking officials, or foreigners from various countries.
However, Xu Manling, whom I met later at Matsumoto's place, was intelligent and generous, and could even be described as a knowledgeable and talented woman.
Looking at Xu Manling now, her fluent French makes it hard not to guess that she is a modern woman who has returned from studying abroad.
In just two days, Chen Ke witnessed three completely different sides of this woman…
"Miss Xu?" Chen Ke asked, his voice tinged with surprise.
Xu Manling turned around upon hearing the voice and was not surprised to find that it was Chen Ke, whom she had just met that afternoon. She simply nodded slightly in greeting, "Mr. Chen, it's quite a coincidence to meet you here."
Chen Ke smiled and said, "It's more than just a coincidence, it's fate. When we parted this afternoon, I was wondering when I would see Miss Xu again, and now I'm lucky enough to run into her. It's really fate."
Xu Manling was much more surprised to hear this than when she first learned it was Chen Ke. Her expression kept changing as she couldn't figure out what was wrong with this boss Chen that made such ambiguous remarks to her.
"Are you... are you alright?"
"Xu, who is this person?" Hebrew's somewhat displeased voice rang out at the same time as Xu Manling's.
"this--"
"Is this Mr. Hebrew?"
Xu Manling had barely uttered a single word when Chen Ke interrupted her.
She stared blankly as Chen Ke, with a warm yet not overly solicitous expression, walked over and extended his hand to Hebrew...
Hebrew was taken aback for a moment, but the young gentleman in front of him was polite and had an outstanding demeanor, so he subconsciously reached out to shake hands with him.
"you······?"
“Oh, Mr. Hebrew, you have quite a bad memory. We met briefly at Mr. Smith’s party before, do you remember?” Chen Ke said without hesitation, using the same old trick he used on Lauters.
However, Hebrew was clearly not as easily fooled as Lautes. After thinking for a while, he said, "If I remember correctly, I have never attended Smith's parties."
Chen Ke: ""
Damn it, that was a miscalculation.
At this point, Xu Manling understood the purpose of Chen Ke's words to her, and Hebrew should have realized it as well, but he was too concerned about what Chen Ke had said to Xu Manling when he came in and didn't think about that aspect at all.
"Xu, who is this person to you?" Hebrew repeated the question from before, clearly very concerned about Chen Ke's identity as a seemingly rival in love.
Chen Ke's lips curled up slightly. Fortunately, Plan B worked.
Chen Ke looked at Xu Manling, unsure of her response. If her answer displeased Hebrew, his plan to infiltrate the upper echelons of the Shanghai concessions through Hebrew, a true French aristocrat, would likely fall through.
Xu Manling and Chen Ke exchanged glances, then casually turned to look at Hebrew.
“Mr. Hebrew, this is Mr. Chen. He deals in antiques and has many friends. He may have misremembered. You may not have met him at Mr. Smith’s place. He is a very humorous man. We have been friends for a long time, but he always likes to joke whenever we meet.”
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